Systems and methods for establishing an itinerary based on multimedia content of interest

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for constructing an itinerary for a user based on articles of multimedia content are disclosed. One computer-implemented method may include: receiving, at the server and from a user device hosting a media streaming platform, an indication of selection by a user of a travel option associated with an aspect featured in an article of multimedia content presented on the media streaming platform; identifying, based on the receiving, a real-world location of the aspect; ascertaining, by the server, contextual information associated with the user; establishing, based on the real-world location of the aspect and the contextual information associated with the user, the itinerary for travel to the aspect; and presenting, subsequent to the establishing, a visual display of the itinerary on the media-streaming platform. Other aspects are described and claimed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to thefield of digital assistants, and, more particularly, to a digitalassistant configured to optimize travel based on a user's multimediacontent preferences.

BACKGROUND

Many individuals travel to various locations around the world (e.g., forleisure, for work, etc.) and may want to visit certain attractions thatare of interest to them at these destinations. For instance, consumersof multimedia content (e.g., provided by a subscription-based mediastreaming platform) may be interested in visiting places (e.g.,buildings, areas, etc.), seeing objects (e.g., statues, structures,etc.), and/or partaking in experiences (e.g., food and/or beveragetasting, etc.) that are featured in their favorite shows, films,documentaries, etc. The present disclosure is accordingly directed tooptimizing an individual's travel experience by incorporating aspects oftheir favorite articles of multimedia content in the trip.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Unless otherwiseindicated herein, the materials described in this section are not priorart to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be priorart, or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to certain aspects of the disclosure, methods and systems aredisclosed for enabling users to plan trips and optimize experiences onthose trips based around aspects of their favorite article of multimediacontent.

In one aspect, a method of establishing an itinerary using a server innetwork communication with at least one database is disclosed, themethod comprising operations including: receiving, at the server andfrom a user device hosting a media streaming platform, an indication ofselection by a user of a travel option associated with an aspectfeatured in an article of multimedia content presented on the mediastreaming platform; identifying, based on the receiving, a real-worldlocation of the aspect; ascertaining, by the server, contextualinformation associated with the user; establishing, based on thereal-world location of the aspect and the contextual informationassociated with the user, the itinerary for travel to the aspect; andpresenting, subsequent to the establishing, a visual display of theitinerary on the media-streaming platform.

In another aspect, a system for establishing an itinerary is disclosed,the system comprising: at least on processor; at least one database; anda server in network communication with the at least one database, theserver configured to perform operations including: receiving, at theserver and from a user device hosting a media streaming platform, anindication of selection by a user of a travel option associated with anaspect featured in an article of multimedia content presented on themedia streaming platform; identifying, based on the receiving, areal-world location of the aspect; ascertaining, by the server,contextual information associated with the user; establishing, based onthe real-world location of the aspect and the contextual informationassociated with the user, the itinerary for travel to the aspect; andpresenting, subsequent to the establishing, a visual display of theitinerary on the media-streaming platform.

In yet another aspect, a method of optimizing travel using a server innetwork communication with at least one database is disclosed, themethod comprising operations including: receiving, at the server, anindication of a geographic location associated with a user; determining,using the server, at least one article of multimedia content present ona media streaming platform that features an aspect associated with thegeographic location; constructing, based on the determining, a contentrail comprising the at least one article of multimedia content; andpresenting, on the media streaming platform, the content rail.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various exemplary embodiments andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary system infrastructure, according to one ormore embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary flowchart of a method of establishing anitinerary for a user based on their multimedia content interests,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary GUI of a media streaming platform, accordingto one or more embodiments

FIG. 4 depicts another exemplary GUI of a media streaming platform,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary flowchart of a method of constructing andpresenting a location-based content rail, according to one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary GUI of a media streaming platform, accordingto one or more embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computing server, according to one or moreembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The terminology used below may be interpreted in its broadest reasonablemanner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detaileddescription of certain specific examples of the present disclosure.Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, anyterminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will beovertly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Descriptionsection. Both the foregoing general description and the followingdetailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are notrestrictive of the features, as claimed.

In this disclosure, the term “based on” means “based at least in parton.” The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the context dictates otherwise. The term “exemplary” is used inthe sense of “example” rather than “ideal.” The terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes,” “including,” or other variations thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion such that a process, method,or product that comprises a list of elements does not necessarilyinclude only those elements, but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such a process, method, article, orapparatus. Relative terms, such as, “substantially” and “generally,” areused to indicate a possible variation of ±10% of a stated or understoodvalue.

The term “user”, “subscriber,” and the like generally encompassesconsumers who are subscribed to a streaming service (e.g., streamingplatform) associated with the system described herein. The term“streaming service” (e.g., streaming platform) may refer tosubscription-based video-on-demand (SVoD) services such as televisionshows, films, documentaries, and the like. The term “user” may be usedinterchangeably with “user profile,” “profile,” and the like throughoutthis application. The phrase “registered with” may be usedinterchangeably with “subscribed to” and the like throughout thisapplication. The phrase “multimedia content” may be used interchangeablywith “multimedia content item”, “article of multimedia content”, and thelike throughout this application.

In the following description, embodiments will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. As will be discussed in moredetail below, in various embodiments, systems and methods for providingdynamic, location-based notifications to a user are described.

Multimedia content may feature a variety of different types of objectsand places from around the world. For example, reality shows (e.g.,travel shows, food-based review shows, home makeover shows, other typesof reality shows, etc.), documentaries, sports broadcasts, music videos,and the like may highlight various buildings, businesses, sculptures,things, and the like. Some individuals, especially enthusiasts, or“fans”, of some articles of multimedia content may be interested invisiting some of these multimedia content-affiliated places in-person(e.g., as part of a dedicated trip, as a side attraction from anothertrip, etc.).

Conventional media streaming platforms are lacking in their ability toenable individuals to plan and/or optimize a trip based upon theirfavorite articles of multimedia content. For instance, the location(e.g., city/state, etc.) of a restaurant may be identified in a show butno further options or information may be available that allow anindividual to easily incorporate that restaurant into part of theirtrip. In this situation, an individual may need to take many extra stepsto find out the best way to travel to that restaurant, which may betime-consuming and/or burdensome. Additionally, these conventionalplatforms are static in their content presentation and don't evolve toadapt to the locations that the individual's visit, thereby contributinglittle to an individual's travel experience.

To address the above-noted problems, the present disclosure describes asystem that may dynamically establish a travel itinerary for a userbased on aspects of an article of multimedia content that they areinterested in. More particularly, the system may receive an indicationof selection of a travel option associated with an aspect featured in anarticle of multimedia content presented on a media streaming platform.The system may then identify a real-world location associated with theaspect and ascertain certain contextual information associated with theuser. Thereafter, the system may establish an itinerary for travel tothe real-world location associated with the aspect in consideration ofthe contextual information.

The present disclosure further provides a system that may optimize auser's travel experience by curating media content that is associatedwith their geographic location. More particularly, the system mayreceive an indication of a geographic location that is associated with auser. The system may further identify one or more articles of multimediacontent that are associated with the user's geographic location.Thereafter, the system may assemble a content rail containing theforegoing geographically-associated articles of multimedia content andmay then present that content rail to the user.

Although the subject matter disclosed herein is generally described withreference to a user's favorite articles of multimedia content, it isimportant to note that these designations are not limiting. Moreparticularly, some or all of the embodiments that are subsequentlydescribed may be applicable to other areas of user interest (e.g., art,books, nature, etc.).

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary block diagram of a system environment 100configured to establish an itinerary for a user based on theirmultimedia interests, according to one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The system environment 100 may include a usercomputing device 105 operated by a user, an electronic network 110, acomputer server 115, a general database 120, and one or more contentdelivery databases 125.

The user computing device 105, the server 115, the general database 120and/or the content delivery databases 125 may be connected via thenetwork 110, using one or more standard communication protocols. Theserver 115 may be configured to receive data over the network 110 fromthe user computing device 105, including, but not limited to,user-associated context data, device-based location data, and locationdata associated with aspects featured in the articles of multimediacontent. Each of the foregoing types of data may be stored in thegeneral database 120, and may include information as to: travelcharacteristics associated with the user (e.g., travel means, travelbudget, travel preferences, etc.), a history of geographic locationspreviously visited by the user computer device 105, and geographicinformation associated with the aforementioned aspects.

In one or more embodiments, the computer server 115 and the generaldatabase 120 may be one server computer device and a single database,respectively. Alternatively, in one or more embodiments, the server 115may be a server cluster, or any other collection or network of aplurality of computer servers. The general database 120 also may be acollection of a plurality of interconnected databases. The server 115and the general database 120 may be components of one server system.Additionally, or alternatively, the server 115 and the general database120 may be components of different server systems, with the network 110serving as the communication channel between them. The computer server115, the general database 120, and/or the content delivery databases 125may be associated with an entity 130, such as a subscription-basedstreaming service provider (not shown). In some embodiments, thecomputer server 115, the general database 120, and/or the contentdelivery databases 125 may collectively be referred to as an entitysystem.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the computer server 115 may be in communicationwith the user device 105 to transmit and receive data, messages, and/orinstructions from each other across the network 110. The user device 105may be associated with a user that is subscribed to a streaming serviceplatform provided by the computer server 115. The network 110 maycomprise one or more networks that connect devices and/or components ofenvironment 100 to allow communication between the user device 105, thecomputer server 115, and other associated components. For example, thenetwork 110 may be implemented as the Internet, a wireless network, awired network (e.g., Ethernet), a local area network (LAN), a Wide AreaNetwork (WANs), Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), or any othertype of network that provides communications between one or morecomponents of environment 100. In some embodiments, the network 110 maybe implemented using cell and/or pager networks, satellite, licensedradio, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed radio. The network110 may be associated with a cloud platform that stores data andinformation related to methods disclosed herein.

The user computing device 105 may include a display/user interface (UI)105A, a processor 105B, a memory 105C, and/or a network interface 105D.The user computing device 105 may be a personal computer (PC), a tabletPC, a set-top box (STB), a streaming device (e.g., Apple TV®, AmazonFire®, Roku® player, Google Chromecast®), a television (TV), a smart TV,a gaming console, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, apalmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. The usercomputing device 105 may execute, by the processor 1058, an operatingsystem (O/S) and at least one application (each stored in memory 105C).The application may be a browser program or a mobile application program(which may also be a browser program in a mobile O/S). The applicationmay be able to establish an itinerary for a user for travel to an aspectfeatured in an article of multimedia content based oninstructions/information received from the server 115. In someembodiments, the application may establish the itinerary based oninstructions/information stored in the memory 105C. The itinerary may bea visual itinerary presented on the application GUI and may be executedbased on XML and Android programming languages or Objective-C/Swift.However, one skilled in the art would recognize that this may also beaccomplished by other methods, such as webpages executed based on HTML,CSS, and/or scripts, such as JavaScript. The display/UI 105A may be atouch screen or a display with other input systems (e.g., mouse,keyboard, etc.). The network interface 105D may be a TCP/IP networkinterface for, e.g., Ethernet or wireless communications with thenetwork 110. The processor 1058, while executing the application, mayreceive user inputs from the display/UI 105A, and perform actions orfunctions in accordance with the application or other relatedapplications.

The computer server 115 may include a display/UI 115A, a processor 115B,a memory 115C, and/or a network interface 115D. The server 115 may be acomputer, system of computers (e.g., rack server(s)), and/or or a cloudservice computer system. The server 115 may execute, by the processor115B, an operating system (O/S) and at least one instance of a serverprogram (each stored in memory 115C). The server 115 may store or haveaccess to information from the general database 120 and content deliverydatabases 125. The display/UI 115A may be a touch screen or a displaywith other input systems (e.g., mouse, keyboard, etc.) for an operatorof the server 115 to control the functions of the server 115 (e.g.,update the server program and/or the server information). The networkinterface 115D may be a TCP/IP network interface for, e.g., Ethernet orwireless communications with the network 110. The server program,executed by the processor 1158 on the server 115, may be configured toidentify interaction partners that align with a user's mission(s) ofinterest, as will be described in further detail below.

As described above, the computer server 115 may store data associatedwith users subscribed to a streaming service platform associated withthe computer server 115. For instance, the computer sever 115 may storeuser profiles generated by the computer server 115 for the user. In someembodiments, the information described above, including the data storedin the general database 120 and any additional data received from theuser computing device 105, may be stored in a plurality of user profileswithin the interaction database 120. Each user profile may correspond toa specific user in communication with the server 115. In an embodiment,a user may have multiple user computing devices 105 registered with theserver 115 based on the user's viewing habits and/or preferences. Forexample, one user may register a personal laptop, a smart TV, and amobile device with the server 115. Information associated withregistered user computing device(s) 105 and the user's viewing habitsand/or viewing preferences may all be stored within the user's userprofile.

In some embodiments, each user profile may also include informationassociated with a respective user and their user computing device(s) 105(e.g., a device identifier, device type), the user's name, a username ora nickname provided by the user for the user profile, content viewingpreferences provided by the user, recommendations provided to the userby the computer server 115, the user's past viewing activity, IPaddresses and locations (as well as accompanying dates and times) fromwhere the user has logged in from, and/or user analytics generated bythe server 115. In these embodiments, the user profile may be updated toreflect a corresponding user's recent activities and locations.

In the system environment 100, the computer server 115, in associationwith a multimedia streaming platform, may retrieve multimedia contentrequested by users from the content delivery databases 125 to enablerequested content to be streamed by users on the user computing device105. The content delivery database 125 may store volumes of multimediacontent items, including, for example, video series, movies,documentaries, and additional programming content that may be streamedby users 102 on the user computing devices 105. In some embodiments, thecontent delivery databases 125 may be maintained by third party contentproviders. In other embodiments, the content delivery databases 125 maybe maintained by the server 115 and/or additional servers associatedwith the server 115. In an embodiment, the computer server 115 mayanalyze the articles of multimedia content stored in the contentdelivery database(s) 125 in order to glean various aspects associatedwith those articles (e.g., filming location, structures featured in thearticle, characters/actors/individuals featured in the articles, etc.).

In some embodiments, the computer server 115 may also store additionaldata received from user computing device 105, including real time and/ornear real time location data (e.g., GPS data) of the user computingdevice 105. Based on knowledge of this location data, the computerserver 115 may access information stored in the general database 120 toidentify correlations between aspects of articles of multimedia contentstored in the general database 120 and a user's current location. Thecomputer server 115 may then transmit instructions, via the network 110,to the user computing device to display a notification informing theuser of these correlations. In some embodiments, the computer server 115may further facilitate access to third party websites or servicesresponsive to user interactions with these notifications (e.g.,presentation of advertisements for stores associated with the user'sidentified geographic location, etc.).

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary process flow 200 for establishing a travelitinerary for a user with respect to an aspect associated with anarticle of multimedia content, according to one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure. The exemplary process flow 200 may beimplemented by system environment 100, which includes user computingdevice 105, computer server 115, general database 120, and contentdelivery databases 125 (all shown in FIG. 1 ).

At step 205, the computer server 115 may receive an indication that auser has selected a travel option associated with an aspect featured inan article of multimedia content. In the context of this application,the article of multimedia content may be one or more of: an entireseries, an episode in a series, a film, a documentary, a live broadcast,and/or virtually any other type of visual media that is able to bepresented on the media streaming platform. In the context of thisapplication, an “aspect” may correspond to one or more of: a locationwhere the article of multimedia content was filmed, a building that thearticle of multimedia content was filmed in, a structure featured ormentioned in the article of multimedia content, an object featured ormentioned in the article of multimedia content interest. In the contextof this application, a “travel option” may correspond to a means bywhich a user may indicate their desire to travel from their current orupcoming geographic location to a location associated with the aspect.For example, the travel option may be one or more of: a digital buttonpresented on a portion of the media streaming platform, a predeterminedword or phrase that may be detected from audible input provided by theuser, and the like. For simplicity purposes, the remainder of thisdisclosure is described with reference to a digital button that ispresented on a media streaming platform as the travel option. However,it is important to note that such a designation is not limiting andother implementations of the travel option may be utilized.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , an exemplary illustration of a GUI 300 of amedia streaming platform having a travel option is provided. In anembodiment, the travel option 305 may be a digital button that isprovided on a portion of the GUI (e.g., offset from the player window,etc.) of the media streaming platform. Alternatively, in anotherembodiment, the travel option 305 may be presented in a popup overlay(i.e., a dedicated popup window) within the media streaming platform. Inan embodiment, the digital button may be permanently resident on themedia streaming platform. More particularly, the digital button may beviewable and selectable by a user during the entirety of a playingduration of an article of multimedia content. Alternatively, in anotherembodiment, the digital button may be hidden, or made unselectable(e.g., by being “grayed out”), to the user until an aspect is detected.In response to this detection, the computer server 115 may dynamicallydisplay the digital button to the user until the aspect is no longerpresent in the multimedia article and/or is no longer the focus of thescene or plot. For instance, in FIG. 3 , the travel option 305 may bepresented on the screen for as long as a segment about the Sphinx isfeatured. In an embodiment, an indication may be provided, within thedigital button, of a location of travel (e.g., “Travel to the Sphinx?”,“Travel to Egypt”, etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 2 and with continued reference to step 205, inresponse to detection of selection of the travel option, the computerserver 115 may attempt to identify the aspect that the user desires totravel to. More particularly, in an embodiment, if the computer server115 only identifies one aspect, then the process may proceed to step210, which is further described below. Alternatively, in anotherembodiment, if the computer server 115 identifies two or more possibleaspects that the user may be referring to, the computer server 115 maygenerate and present a notification to the user (e.g., an audible and/orvisual notification via the media streaming platform). In an embodiment,the notification may query the user to select at least one aspect fromtwo or more listed aspects in the notification. For example, and withreference to FIG. 4 , upon detection that a digital button 405associated with the travel option is selected, a computer server 115 mayidentify: A) a specific structure (e.g., the Sphinx) featured in acurrent scene of the multimedia article; and B) a geographic locationwhere the majority of the multimedia article was filmed (e.g., Egypt).The computer server 115 may thereafter cause a notification 410 to bepresented to the user, querying them about which aspect they areinterested in traveling to. The user may thereafter interact with thenotification to select either one of both of the aspects.

At step 210, a real-world location of the aspect may be identified bythe computer server 115. In this regard. In an embodiment, the computerserver 115 may access a database that comprises associations betweenaspects that are featured in articles of multimedia content available tothe media streaming platform and their corresponding geographiclocations. Additionally or alternatively, if a geographic location for afeatured aspect is not contained in the database, the computer server115 may identify by, for example, accessing a third party source (e.g.,by obtaining the information from an online source such as a web site,etc.).

At step 215, contextual information associated with the user of themedia streaming platform may be ascertained by the computer server 115.In the context of this application, “contextual information” maycorrespond to virtually any type of travel-related informationassociated with the user. For example, contextual information maycorrespond to one or more of: a user's current geographic location, auser's upcoming geographic location (e.g., as indicated by designationsmade in a user's calendaring application, social media posts, and/orcommunications to others), a user's travel means (e.g., the type ofvehicle owned and/or available for use by the user, the user's abilityto utilize public transport, the user's proximity to an airport, etc.),a user's travel tendencies (e.g., a user's preferences to drive overfly, etc.), a user's upcoming scheduled plans (e.g., future work trips,future vacations, etc.), and the like. In an embodiment, the user maydelineate in the media streaming platform the type of contextualinformation that may be accessible by the computer server 115.

At step 220, the computer server 115 may establish an itinerary fortravel to the aspect based on the real-world location of the aspect andthe contextual information associated with the user. More particularly,the computer server 115 may identify a current geographic locationassociated with the user (i.e., as delineated in the contextualinformation), a real-world location of the aspect (i.e., as determinedby the computer server 115), and thereafter construct a plan for theuser to travel from their current geographic location to the real-worldlocation of the aspect. This plan may include an identification of thecosts associated with the travel, the lodging associated with thetravel, the means by which the user will travel to the aspects, thedates that the user will be traveling, and all of the costs associatedwith the foregoing.

In an embodiment, the construction of the itinerary by the computerserver 115 may be dictated by one or more user-controlled variables. Forinstance, in an embodiment, the computer server 115 may be configured toconstruct the itinerary based on a user's available travel means and/orbudget. In a situation where the computer server 115 is unable toidentify a route that falls within the user's budget (i.e. because theuser's budget is too low to accommodate the cheapest travel means to theaspect), then the computer server 115 may generate the next cheapesttravel option. In another embodiment, the computer server 115 may beconfigured to construct the itinerary based on a cost-irrespectivemetric, such as a shortest travel distance and/or a fastest travel time.Such considerations may be further refined in view of a user's travelpreferences (e.g., the fastest travel time by car only, etc.). In yetanother embodiment, the computer server 115 may be configured to accountfor a user's upcoming scheduled events (e.g., as identified in a user'spersonal calendar) and construct the route so that no interference orconflict exists between their travels and a start time of the scheduledevent(s).

Embodiments may exist in which the computer server 115 may be configuredto plan travel to a plurality of aspects. For instance, a user of themedia streaming platform may utilize the travel option to save aspectsfrom different articles of multimedia content that they would eventuallywant to travel to. As an example, a user may be interested in travelingto: a specific building featured in a movie, a structure presented in anepisode of a show, and a restaurant featured in another episode of thesame show, all in one trip. When desired, the user may prompt thecomputer server 115 to construct an itinerary for travel to each of theaspects using some or all of the foregoing itinerary constructionconsiderations.

At step 225, the computer server 115 may be configured to present avisual display of the constructed itinerary on the media streamingplatform. In an embodiment, the visual display may show the plannedroute of travel to the aspect and/or other types of travel-relatedinformation (e.g., the travel means that the user may utilize alongdifferent portions of the trip, the travel cost, etc.). In anembodiment, a user may be able to share the constructed itinerary withanother user. For example, the user may be able to send the constructeditinerary to one of their friends or social contacts on themedia-streaming platform. In this regard, upon receiving a sharerequest, the computer server 115 may identify a user profile of anintended recipient and thereafter transmit a copy of the itinerary totheir user profile.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , a process flow 500 is depicted for presentinga content rail to a user that comprises geographically-relevant articlesof multimedia content. The exemplary process flow 500 may be implementedby system environment 100, which includes user computing device 105,computer server 115, multimedia content preference database 120, andcontent delivery databases 125 (all shown in FIG. 1 ).

At step 505, the computer server 115 may receive an indication of ageographic location associated with a user. In the context of thisapplication, the user's geographic location may correspond to virtuallyany physical position located in the real world. In an embodiment, thegeographic location of the user may be deduced from location dataassociated with a user's computing device 105. More particularly, thecomputer server 115 may assume that the user's geographic position issubstantially equivalent to the geographic position of their computingdevice 105. In an embodiment, geographic location data may be receivedfrom the computing device 105 (e.g., substantially continuously, atpredetermined intervals, etc.), which may be derived from one or morelocation-aware technologies including, but not limited to, GPS, Wi-Fitriangulation, Enhanced Observed time Difference (E-OTD), and the like.Additionally or alternatively, in another embodiment, the geographiclocation of the user may be deduced from receipt of location-basedcontext data associated with the user. More particularly, the computerserver 115, given appropriate permissions, may be capable of accessingone or more of a user's calendar data (e.g., containing storedindications of designated locations a user will be located),communication data (e.g., emails, SMS messages, online chat data, etc.),and/or social media data (e.g., status updates, public posts, etc.).

At step 510, the computer server 115 may determine at least one articleof multimedia content present on the media streaming platform thatfeatures an aspect associated with the geographic location. In thecontext of this application, the article of multimedia content may beone or more of: an entire series, an episode in a series, a film, adocumentary, a live broadcast, and/or virtually any other type of visualmedia that is able to be broadcast on the media streaming platform. Inthe context of this application, an aspect of the article of multimediacontent that is associated with the geographic location of the user maycorrespond to one or more of: a location, a building, a structure,and/or an object featured in the article of multimedia content that islocated, filmed at, and/or is referenced as being associated with theuser's geographic location. In an embodiment, the computer server 115may facilitate this determination by, for example, first obtaininggeographic information for each aspect present in an article ofmultimedia content available on the media streaming platform (e.g., viaaccessing a database that contains these geographic associations, byobtaining these geographic associations from an online source, etc.) andthereafter comparing it to the geographic location associated with theuser.

At step 515, the computer server 115 may construct a content rail thatcomprises at least one of the geographically-associated articles ofmultimedia content determined in step 510 and may thereafter present, atstep 520, the content rail on the media streaming platform. In thecontext of this application, a content rail may correspond to anorganized listing of multimedia articles that a user may choose from. Inan embodiment, the content rail may comprise a combination of all typesof multimedia articles (e.g., shows, movies, documentaries, etc.). As anexample of the foregoing and with reference to FIG. 6 , an illustrativeexample of a location-based content rail is provided, according to oneor more embodiments. More particularly, a GUI 600 of a media streamingplatform is illustrated that may provide a content rail 605 thatcontains content recommendations 610 that are all associated in some waywith the user's geographic location (e.g., articles of multimediacontent that may have been filmed at the user's geographic location,articles of multimedia content that may have been based on the user'sgeographic location, articles of multimedia content that may containtopics related to the user's geographic location, articles of multimediacontent that may feature an object or structure associated with theuser's geographic location, etc.).

In an embodiment, additional dynamic changes may be made to the mediastreaming platform based on social, environmental, and/or geographiccharacteristics associated with the user's current geographic location.For example, a color palette of the media streaming platform may bedynamically adjusted to match a color scheme customarily associated withthe user's geographic location (e.g., the colors showcased by a popularlocal sports team, the colors exhibited by the natural environmentassociated with the geographic location, etc.). In another example,words and/or phrases utilized on the media-streaming platform may bedynamically adjusted to match common regional words and/orcolloquialisms associated with the user's geographic location. In yetanother example, if the media streaming platform supports advertisements(e.g., banner advertisements, embedded video advertisements, etc.), thenthose advertisements may be refined to showcase regional advertisementsthat may be more relevant to the user in the moment (e.g.,advertisements for deals associated with local restaurants, stores,etc.). In yet another example, the media streaming platform may act asan activity recommendation center that may identify one or moreactivities and/or events that a user may participate in at theirgeographic location and provide an indication of these activities and/orevents to the user.

In general, any process discussed in this disclosure that is understoodto be computer-implementable, such as the processes illustrated in FIGS.2 and 5 , may be performed by one or more processors of a computerserver, such as computer server 115, as described above. A process orprocess step performed by one or more processors may also be referred toas an operation. The one or more processors may be configured to performsuch processes by having access to instructions (e.g., software orcomputer-readable code) that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform the processes.The instructions may be stored in a memory of the computer server. Aprocessor may be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processingunit (GPU), or any suitable types of processing unit.

A computer system, such as computer server 115, may include one or morecomputing devices. If the one or more processors of the computer systemare implemented as a plurality of processors, the plurality ofprocessors may be included in a single computing device or distributedamong a plurality of computing devices. If a computer server 115comprises a plurality of computing devices, the memory of the computerserver 115 may include the respective memory of each computing device ofthe plurality of computing devices.

FIG. 7 is a simplified functional block diagram of a computer system 700that may be configured as a computing device for executing the processesillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5 , according to exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 7 is a simplified functional block diagram of acomputer that may be configured as the computer server 115 according toexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. In various embodiments,any of the systems herein may be an assembly of hardware including, forexample, a data communication interface 720 for packet datacommunication. The platform also may include a central processing unit(“CPU”) 702, in the form of one or more processors, for executingprogram instructions. The platform may include an internal communicationbus 808, and a storage unit 706 (such as ROM, HDD, SDD, etc.) that maystore data on a computer readable medium 722, although the system 700may receive programming and data via network communications. The system700 may also have a memory 704 (such as RAM) storing instructions 724for executing techniques presented herein, although the instructions 724may be stored temporarily or permanently within other modules of system700 (e.g., processor 702 and/or computer readable medium 722). Thesystem 700 also may include input and output ports 712 and/or a display710 to connect with input and output devices such as keyboards, mice,touchscreens, monitors, displays, etc. The various system functions maybe implemented in a distributed fashion on a number of similarplatforms, to distribute the processing load. Alternatively, the systemsmay be implemented by appropriate programming of one computer hardwareplatform.

Program aspects of the technology may be thought of as “products” or“articles of manufacture” typically in the form of executable codeand/or associated data that is carried on or embodied in a type ofmachine-readable medium. “Storage” type media include any or all of thetangible memory of the computers, processors or the like, or associatedmodules thereof, such as various semiconductor memories, tape drives,disk drives and the like, which may provide non-transitory storage atany time for the software programming. All or portions of the softwaremay at times be communicated through the Internet or various othertelecommunication networks. Such communications, for example, may enableloading of the software from one computer or processor into another, forexample, from a management server or host computer of the mobilecommunication network into the computer platform of a server and/or froma server to the mobile device. Thus, another type of media that may bearthe software elements includes optical, electrical and electromagneticwaves, such as used across physical interfaces between local devices,through wired and optical landline networks and over various air-links.The physical elements that carry such waves, such as wired or wirelesslinks, optical links, or the like, also may be considered as mediabearing the software. As used herein, unless restricted tonon-transitory, tangible “storage” media, terms such as computer ormachine “readable medium” refer to any medium that participates inproviding instructions to a processor for execution.

While the presently disclosed methods, devices, and systems aredescribed with exemplary reference to asynchronous consumption ofstreaming media, it should be appreciated that the presently disclosedembodiments may be applicable to transmitting data and may be applicableto any environment, such as a desktop or laptop computer, a gamingconsole environment, and any CTV (connected TV) environment (e.g., aninternet-connected device used to watch multimedia content items), etc.Also, the presently disclosed embodiments may be applicable to any typeof Internet protocol.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of thedisclosure disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

In general, any process discussed in this disclosure that is understoodto be performable by a computer may be performed by one or moreprocessors. Such processes include, but are not limited to: the processshown in FIG. 16 , and the associated language of the specification. Theone or more processors may be configured to perform such processes byhaving access to instructions (computer-readable code) that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform the processes. The one or more processors may be part of acomputer system (e.g., one of the computer systems discussed above) thatfurther includes a memory storing the instructions. The instructionsalso may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium may be separate from anyprocessor. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media includesolid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media.

It should be appreciated that in the above description of exemplaryembodiments of the invention, various features of the invention aresometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, ordescription thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure andaiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventiveaspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than allfeatures of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claimsfollowing the Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporatedinto this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment of this invention.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some butnot other features included in other embodiments, combinations offeatures of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope ofthe invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood bythose skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any ofthe claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

Thus, while certain embodiments have been described, those skilled inthe art will recognize that other and further modifications may be madethereto without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it isintended to claim all such changes and modifications as falling withinthe scope of the invention. For example, functionality may be added ordeleted from the block diagrams and operations may be interchanged amongfunctional blocks. Steps may be added or deleted to methods describedwithin the scope of the present invention.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other implementations, which fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to themaximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is tobe determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of thefollowing claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted orlimited by the foregoing detailed description. While variousimplementations of the disclosure have been described, it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreimplementations are possible within the scope of the disclosure.Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be restricted except in light ofthe attached claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of establishing an itinerary using aserver in network communication with at least one database, the methodcomprising operations including: receiving, at the server and from auser device hosting a media streaming platform, an indication ofselection by a user of a travel option during a scene of an article ofmultimedia content presented on the media streaming platform;determining, using a processor of the server, that two or more aspectsare featured in the scene; presenting, using the processor and based onthe determining, a query on the media streaming platform that promptsthe user to select one of the two or more aspects in the scene toestablish the itinerary for; identifying, using the processor, areal-world location of a selected aspect from the two or more aspects;ascertaining, by the processor, contextual information associated withthe user, wherein the contextual information comprises at least ageographic location associated with the user; establishing, using theprocessor, the itinerary for travel to the selected aspect from thegeographic location associated with the user to the real-world locationof the selected aspect; and presenting, using the processor andsubsequent to the establishing, a visual display of the itinerary on themedia-streaming platform.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectedaspect corresponds to at least one of: a location where the article ofmultimedia content was filmed, a building that the article of multimediacontent was filmed in, a structure featured or mentioned in the articleof multimedia content, and an object featured or mentioned in thearticle of multimedia content.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thetravel option is a digital button that appears on a portion of the mediastreaming platform during a duration that the two or more aspects arefeatured in the article of multimedia content.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the contextual information further comprises at least one of: anupcoming geographic location associated with the user, a travel meansassociated with the user, a travel tendency of the user, and upcomingscheduled events for the user.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theestablishing the itinerary comprises: identifying, within the contextualinformation, the upcoming scheduled events for the user; andconstructing, based on the upcoming scheduled events, a route to theselected aspect that does not interfere with the one or more scheduledevents.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing comprisesestablishing the itinerary in consideration of a user-controlledvariable selected from the group consisting of: a shortest traveldistance, a fastest travel time, and a cheapest travel cost.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at the server, anotherindication to share the itinerary with another user; identifying, usingthe server, a user profile associated with the another user; andtransmitting, responsive to identifying the user profile associated withthe another user, the itinerary to another user device associated withthe user profile.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying thereal-world location of the selected aspect comprises: determining thatan association between the selected aspect and the real-world locationof the selected aspect is not present in a database associated with theserver; and retrieving, subsequent to determining that the associationis not present in the database, the real-world location from athird-party source.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the presenting thequery comprises displaying, on a page of the media streaming platformcontaining the article of multimedia content, a notification boxincluding an option list identifying the two or more assets.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: detecting an instruction from theuser to save a record of the two or more aspects in a list stored in theat least one database, wherein the list includes records of otheraspects from one or more other articles of multimedia content; receivinga command from the user to organize another itinerary for travel to eachstored aspect in the list; and generating, based on the receivedcommand, the another itinerary.
 11. A system for establishing anitinerary, the system comprising: at least on processor; at least onedatabase; and a server in network communication with the at least onedatabase and the at least one processor, the server storing instructionsthat are executable by the at least one processor to: receive, at theserver and from a user device hosting a media streaming platform, anindication of selection by a user of a travel option during a scene ofan article of multimedia content presented on the media streamingplatform; determine that two or more aspects are featured in the scene;present, based on the determining, a query on the media streamingplatform that prompts the user to select one of the two or more aspectsin the scene to establish the itinerary for; identify a real-worldlocation of a selected aspect of the two or more aspects; ascertaincontextual information associated with the user, wherein the contextualinformation comprises at least a geographic location associated with theuser; establish the itinerary for travel to the selected aspect from thegeographic location associated with the user to the real-world locationof the selected aspect; and present, subsequent to the establishing, avisual display of the itinerary on the media-streaming platform.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the selected aspect corresponds to at leastone of: a location where the article of multimedia content was filmed, abuilding that the article of multimedia content was filmed in, astructure featured or mentioned in the article of multimedia content,and an object featured or mentioned in the article of multimediacontent.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the travel option is adigital button that appears on a portion of the media streaming platformduring a duration that the two or more aspects are featured in thearticle of multimedia content.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thecontextual information further comprises at least one of: an upcominggeographic location associated with the user, a travel means associatedwith the user, a travel tendency of the user, and upcoming scheduledevents for the user.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein theinstructions executable by the at least one processor to establish theitinerary are further configured to cause the at least one processor to:identify, within the contextual information, the upcoming scheduledevents for the user; and construct, based on the upcoming scheduledevents, a route to the selected aspect that does not interfere with theone or more scheduled events.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein theinstructions executable by the at least one processor to establish theitinerary are further configured to cause the at least one processor to:establish the itinerary in consideration of a user-controlled variableis selected from the group consisting of: a shortest travel distance, afastest travel time, and a cheapest travel cost.
 17. The system of claim11, wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least oneprocessor to: receive, at the server, another indication to share theitinerary with another user; identify a user profile associated with theanother user; and transmit, responsive to identifying the user profileassociated with the another user, the itinerary to another user deviceassociated with the user profile.
 18. The system of claim 11, whereinthe instructions executable by the at least one processor to identifythe real-world location of the selected aspect are further configured tocause the at least one processor to: determine that an associationbetween the selected aspect and the real-world location of the selectedaspect is not present in a database associated with the server; andretrieve, subsequent to determining that the association is not presentin the database, the real-world location from a third-party source. 19.The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions executable by the atleast one processor to present the query are further configured todisplay, on a page of the media streaming platform containing thearticle of multimedia content, a notification box including an optionlist identifying the two or more assets.
 20. The system of claim 11,wherein the instructions are further executable by the at least oneprocessor to: detect an instruction from the user to save a record ofthe two or more aspects in a list stored in the at least one database,wherein the list includes records of other aspects from one or moreother articles of multimedia content; receive a command from the user toorganize another itinerary for travel to each stored aspect in the list;and generate the another itinerary based on the received command.